


In the Dark

by ami_ven



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 06:31:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1216108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was dark, and John was alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> written for LJ community "mcsheplets" prompt #147 "virtual"

It was dark, and John was alone.

A sharp, cold wind howled around him, and lightning flashed beyond the distant tree line that never got any nearer, no matter how far he walked. He could hear voices, indistinct and unintelligible, rising above the storm, but when he tried to make out the words, the wind drowned them out.

He had no idea how long he’d been there, in that not-quite nowhere, surrounded by a storm that was never coming. He’d always thought that the sudden, deadly calm and darkening sky before a storm hit were infinitely worse than the storm itself. Wind and rain he could deal with, but the anticipation and uncertainty made him edgy.

_At least there aren’t any clowns_ , he thought, and froze.

The last thing he remembered was being on a mission— running, fighting, a burst of overwhelming pain— then, darkness. What if he’d found another of those crystal creatures? 

John looked around wildly, searching for the nightmare that had his face, but he was alone. All alone. Completely and utterly alone.

And then, he wasn’t.

“What the hell?” said Rodney, standing a few feet away and scowling at the distant trees. “This is worse than the empty Gate Room, Sheppard. Maybe you _should_ go talk to Dr. What’s-His-Name, the new shrink.”

John blinked. “Rodney?”

The other man frowned at him. “You don’t remember the evil nightmare-crystal-you?” he asked. “Oh, god, you don’t remember _me_? Quick, tell me your name and the year and—”

“ _Rodney_ ,” interrupted John. He meant to snap, but he was smiling— he was still confused as hell and had no idea where he was, but Rodney was here and he was _real_ and that made things a lot more okay. “I remember my name, and yours. What’s going on?”

Rodney took a deep breath. “You’re in a coma, John,” he said, softly.

“What?”

“You took a hit on the last mission from some kind of weapon that rendered you unconscious, and Carson doesn’t know what exactly it did. Your body is fine, your brain is fine, but you won’t wake up.”

“How long…?” John asked.

“Two weeks,” said Rodney. “Carson keeps hoping you’ll wake up on your own. Teyla thinks you’re on some metaphorical journey of the heart, Ronon thinks that maybe your subconscious just doesn’t have any Wraith so you want to stay, and I—”

He broke off, then said hesitantly, “There _aren’t_ any Wraith here.”

John decided to ignore that. “So, I’m unconscious? In the infirmary?”

Rodney nodded. “For two weeks, and three days. Which is why I finally gave up waiting for you and dug out that brain-sharing machine we borrowed from the SG— Hey!”

John had crossed the space between them to pull Rodney into a fierce hug. He was _real_ , solid and warm, and John hung on tight.

“Hey,” Rodney repeated, more softly, running his hand up and down John’s spine. “Hey.”

“I thought I was alone,” John mumbled, into his shoulder. “I thought I’d be stuck here forever.”

“Of course not,” said Rodney, indignant. “Like it or not, Sheppard, you’re mine now and there’s nowhere you can go that I won’t find you again. Not even your own screwed-up mind.”

Not very long ago, John would have found that sort of terrifying, but at the moment, it was the best thing he’d ever heard. “Rodney,” he said. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

“Not recently,” Rodney told him. “Can we wake up now? Because as much as I enjoy when you get all clingy, this would be much better in a real bed in the privacy of our quarters, instead of the middle of the infirmary.”

“I do not get—” John began, pulling away to scowl at him, but Rodney darted in for a kiss and he lost his train of thought. 

“Wake up, John,” said Rodney, softly, and when John opened his eyes, he could see the infirmary ceiling above him.

Teyla and Ronon hurried to stand beside their bed, while Carson and Radek rushed to silence an array of suddenly-beeping machines. Rodney, in the bed beside him, propped himself up on one elbow to grin at John.

“Good morning.”

THE END


End file.
